Price card support



Jan. 1, 1963 R. J. SLAVSKY 3,070,911

PRICE CARD SUPPORT Filed April 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ROBERT J. SLAVSKY QW EQM-Jm ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 1963 R. J. SLAVSKY 3,070,911

PRICE CARD SUPPORT Filed April 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. ROBERT J. SLAVSKY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,070,911 PRICE CARD SUPPORT Robert J. Slavsky, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Shaw &

Slavsky, Inc., Detroit, Mich. Filed Apr. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 185,665 7 Claims. (Cl. 40-11) This invention relates to a price card support and more particularly, to a support for mounting price cards upon the front edge molding of a shelf.

in the supermarket industry, it is a common practice to indicate specially priced or sales priced merchandise to the retail customers by means of printed cards afiixed to the edges of the shelves upon which the special priced merchandise is placed. Many supermarkets, particularly chain stores, print their own cards which are used for the few days that some specific item is specially priced. The cards are normally attached to the shelf edges by means of adhesive tape and, therefore, are easily knocked off by customers brushing against them or by children pulling them off. In addition, the cardsare easily bent or soiled. Thus, the store personnel 'rn ust constantly check the shelves, many times a. day, and replace those cards which have become lost or attach those cards back onthe shelves, where the cards have been knocked off. Although thexcards individually. are inexpensive, large numbers of them are used .th-roughoutiany one market and when multiplied by the number of markets in any one chain the aggregate expense is considerable;

Hence, it is an object of this invention to provide a supportfor fastening conventional price indicating cards to the front edge moldings which are normally found on the front edges of supermarket shelving, in such a way that-the cards cannot be easily tampered with or knocked off the shelf and are protected against damage or soiling, and which permits the use of thinner, and thereby less expensive, paper or cardboard cards.

A further object of this invention is .to provide a price card holder or support in the form of a thin sheet of transparent plastic material which protects the face of a card, wherein the card is secured frictionally to the transparent sheet by means of a wire mounting which simultaneously functions to secure the sheet to the shelf edge molding.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

I FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the price card support with a price card positioned thereon.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the sheet mounted upon a shelf molding.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the support.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of the wire mounting means.

' FIG. 5 is a view, similar to FIG. 4, of a modified wire mounting means.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views each similar, respectively, to FIGS. 1 and 3 but illustrating a modification.

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, the price card support 10 is formed for mounting upon a shelf edge molding 11 connected to the front edge of a shelf 12. The molding used may be of the type illustrated in my Patent No. 2,983,475 of May 9, 1961. The support is mounted normally in a substantially vertical position, parallel to the front edge of the shelf.

The support is formed of a thin, stifl, single thickness, transparent plastic sheet 14 having a front face 15 and a back face 16. The price card 17 is arranged in face to face contact with the back face 16 so as to show through the transparent sheet.

Patented Jan. 1, 1963 Card 17 is a conventional card usually formed of thin cardboard of a size which is roughly about four inches by six inches. However, with this support, thin, inexpensive paper can be used instead of the relatively more expensive cardboard. The message on the face of the cardboard is normally printed or written by the super market operators and varies to indicate the particular sales item and the price thereof.

Wire mounting means 20 are provided to secure the sheet 14 to the shelf edge molding 11 as well as to secure the card 17 to the back face 16 of the sheet. Such mounting means are in the form of elongated springy Wires each having one end sinuously bent at 21 around rivets 22, for securing such end to the back face of the sheet, and extending into a free end portion 23 (see FIG. 4) arranged substantially parallel to the sheet for overlapping the bottom edge of the card 17 and pressing it against the sheet.

The opposite end of the wire is bent at 25 into a mounting configuration which may be of the M-shape of my Patent No. 2,983,475 of May 9, 1961 or of some such similar suitable bent configuration for fastening to the shelf edge molding 11.

The Wire portion between the sinuous bend and the mounting configuration is bent into an inverted L-shape having one leg 26 arranged transverse to the plane of the sheet and the other leg 27 arranged substantially parallel to the plane of the sheet for overlapping the card 17. The leg 27 is centrally bowed at 28 outwardly of the plane of the sheet so that the opposite ends of the bow press against the card 17 and particularly a straightened portion 29 thereof forms a line contact which spring presses the card 17 against the back face 16 of the sheet. In this way, themounting means tightly and frictionally lock the card against the sheet while mounting the sheet to the shelf edge molding.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the wire mounting means wherein the vertical leg 30 of the L-shape is straight rather than centrally bowed as in FIG. 4. The straight leg is adequate, in many cases, for pressing a thin gage cardboard or paper price card against the sheet 14 and for frictionally locking the card against falling off the sheet.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a modification wherein the wire supports are arranged at the top edge of the sheet, so that the sheet depends downwardly a considerable distance below the shelf rather than extending above the shelf as illustrated in FIG. 2. The mounting means 20 are substantially identical to that shown in FIG. 4 or in FIG. 5, although the vertical leg may be shortened somewhat to lower the top edge of the card relative to the top surface of the shelf 12.

In addition, struck-out pockets 32 are formed in the sheet to extend rearwardly of the sheet and receive corners of the card, the pockets being rearwardly extended enough so that the corners of the price card do not extend forwardly of the front face of the card and hence, cannot be readily tampered with. This modification is particularly useful where the cards may be subjected to considerable contact with passers-by or to unusual heavy breezes in some particular portion of a store.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following attached claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I now claim:

1. A price card support for mounting a price card upon a shelf edge molding comprising a thin, flat, stiff, singlerthickness sheet of transparent plastic material having a front face and a back face; means for mounting the sheet on the edge of a shelf and for mounting a price card on the back face of the sheet; said means comprising at least one springy wire support having one end secured to the back face of the sheet and its opposite end bent into a mounting configuration for attachment to a shelf edge molding, a substantial portion of the wire between the ends being bent substantially parallel to the back face of the sheet and spring pressing against said back face for overlapping a price card arranged in face to face contact with the back face of the sheet and spring pressing the card into tight frictional contact with the sheet.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, and at least one portion of said sheet being struck-out rearwardly, that is, from the front face rearwardly of the back face, and for-med to overlap the exposed back face of a card arranged in contact with the sheet for holding the card in contact with the sheet.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2, and including a number of such struck-out portions formed in the sheet, each arranged to overlap and hold a corner portion of the card.

4. A support for mounting a price card upon a shelf edge molding comprising a thin, flat, stiff, single-thickness sheet of transparent plastic material having a front face and a back face; wire means for mounting the sheet on the edge of a shelf and for mounting a price card on and in face to face contact with the back face of the sheet; said wire means comprising an elongated,,springy wire, having one end secured to the'back face of the sheet by a rivet, the portion of the wire adjacent to such riveted end being arranged substantially parallel to and in spring contact with the back face of the sheet and extending into a portion bent at an angle to the sheet and terminating at the opposite end of the wire in a bent configuration formed to interlock with the shelf edge molding for locking the sheet parallel to the shelf edge molding and for overlapping and spring pressing a price card tightly against the back face of the sheet.

5. A construction as defined in claim 4 and said wire portion adjacent said riveted end being centrally bowed a short distance away from the sheet with the opposite end of the bow tightly pressing against the sheet.

6. -A construction as defined in claim 4, and the riveted end of the wire terminating in a short free end bent substantially parallel to the sheet and arranged to overlap a card for further holding the card in contact with the sheet.

7. A support for mounting a price card upon a shelf edge molding comprising a thin,,fiat, stiff, single-thickness sheet of transparent plastic-material having a front face and a back face, Wire means for mounting the sheet on a shelf edge molding secured to the edge .of a shelf, parallel to thesh-elf edge and for mounting a price card in face to face contact with the back face of the sheet; said wire means comprising two spaced apart, but horizontally aligned, substantially identical elongated springy wires each having an end bent into a mounting configuration for engagement with the molding and each having its opposite end secured to .the back face of the sheet by rivets, and terminating in a short free end bent to overlap a card arranged on the back face of the sheet, each of the wires between their opposite ends being bent into an L-shape, with one leg of the L being transverse to the plane of the sheet and being integral with the mounting configuration, the other leg being substantially parallel to the sheet, but centrally bowed away from the sheet ,with the opposite ends of the bow spring pressing against the sheet and arranged to overlap and spring press the card into tight contact with the sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,141,342 Brownell Dec. 27, 1938 2,328,807 Hoofer Sept. 7, 1943 2,564,517 Beals Aug. 14, 1951 2,923,078 Slavsky Feb. 2, 1960 

1. A PRICE CARD SUPPORT FOR MOUNTING A PRICE CARD UPON A SHELF EDGE MOLDING COMPRISING A THIN, FLAT, STIFF, SINGLETHICKNESS SHEET OF TRANSPARENT PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A FRONT FACE AND A BACK FACE; MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE SHEET ON THE EDGE OF A SHELF AND FOR MOUNTING A PRICE CARD ON THE BACK FACE OF THE SHEET; SAID MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE SPRINGY WIRE SUPPORT HAVING ONE END SECURED TO THE BACK FACE OF THE SHEET AND ITS OPPOSITE END BENT INTO A MOUNTING CONFIGURATION FOR ATTACHMENT TO A SHELF EDGE MOLDING, A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE WIRE BETWEEN THE ENDS BEING BENT SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE BACK FACE OF THE SHEET AND SPRING PRESSING AGAINST SAID BACK FACE FOR OVERLAPPING A PRICE CARD ARRANGED IN FACE TO FACE CONTACT WITH THE BACK FACE OF THE SHEET AND SPRING PRESSING THE CARD INTO TIGHT FRICTIONAL CONTACT WITH THE SHEET. 